Cape Coral boy's disappearance heightens deportation fears

Two women who grew up as undocumented immigrants in Southwest Florida can speak to the fear the Cape Coral boy may be feeling, a fear that caused him to run.

Friday, October 27th 2017, 7:31 PM EDT by Ross DiMattei

Fears of deportation have been heightened in Southwest Florida after a Cape Coral boy's disappearance this week.

Documents from Cape Coral police show Jeremias Lopez-Domingo may have been afraid of being deported, so he ran to his aunt and uncle in Immokalee.

Two women who grew up as undocumented immigrants in Southwest Florida can speak to the fear Jeremias may be feeling. Both women have since obtained legal status, but they were brought to Southwest Florida illegally as children by their parents who were seeking a better life. They say Jeremias is feeling fear many people don't understand, a fear that constantly looms over you and strips you of your childhood.

"I was six years old. I didn't have a say whether we came or we stayed. So I wish we would've done it the legal way. My parents actually did try to get a visa. They were denied. But it's either you stay in your country and you're raped or killed because violence is very, very bad over there, or you risk it and you give your kids a better life in another country," said Megali Torres Hernandez.

For the next 18 years of her life, she grew up in Immokalee as an undocumented immigrant, not knowing if it was safe to stay in the United States.

"In high school, there were raids going on and I remember seeing it in the news and I remember being very fearful back then for my parents and for myself. I actually had nightmares about them," said Hernandez. "It was scary. Every time you go to and from work. Every time you go to the grocery store, you don't know if you're gonna make it back to your house, so it's very scary and stressful."

As a former undocumented immigrant herself, Francisca Rodriguez Gamboa knows the feeling.

"The fear of the kids going, 'OK, my mom and my dad are going out for milk, but are they going to come back?'" said Gamboa.

Gamboa said Jeremias probably has many questions and not many answers.

"Why is this happening to me? Why am I being pinpointed? Why is my dad and my mom being deported? What makes me and my mom and dad any different than anybody else?" said Gamboa.

She added that fear and uncertainty create an unstable environment for any kid.

"It takes them away from their education. It takes them away from thinking for themselves. It takes them away from socializing, making friends out there. It takes them away from their dreams," said Gamboa.